In general, a water cooler is a device cooling water supplied from a faucet or a water dispenser and providing the same to a user. Such a water cooler may be installed in a water purifier, a water carbonator, a water heater/chiller, and the like.
A method for generating cold water includes a direct cooling method using a cold water tank and an ice thermal storage scheme using heat exchange with ice.
Here, according to the ice thermal storage scheme, a cold water line is installed to pass through an ice storage tank in which ice or a cold fluid is stored to allow the cooled heat transmission material accommodated within the ice storage tank to be heat-exchanged with room temperature water passing through the cold water line to generate cold water.
Meanwhile, FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a configuration of a related art ice thermal storage type water cooler, which includes an evaporator 30 connected to a cooling device 20 and having a refrigerant circulated therein, a cold water line 40 accommodating room temperature water to generate cold water, and a stirrer 50 within an ice storage tank 10 accommodating an ice storage liquid.
Here, the stirrer 50 includes a motor device and a propeller to circulate the ice storage liquid accommodated in the ice storage tank 10 to transfer cold ice storage liquid in the vicinity of the evaporator 30 to the cold water line 40 and melt ice formed on a surface of the evaporator 30 by using a flow of the ice storage liquid. Here, as ice formed on the surface of the evaporator 30 is melted, it absorbs latent heat to potentially lower a temperature of the ice storage liquid.
However, the related art water cooler including the stirrer 50 has problems in that noise is generated due to the actuation of the stirrer 50, ice storage heat may not be effectively convected, the ice on the surface of the evaporator 30 may not be effectively melted, and the installation of the stirrer 50 increases a size of the device.